The present invention is directed to the field of athletic instruction, and more particularly to a method of producing an instructional tool for teaching athletes how to develop consistent rhythm, timing and tempo.
The importance of athletics in today""s society continues to rise as evidenced by the huge amount of money that is being devoted to athletics at all levels (i.e., high school, college and professional). A good portion of the money being devoted to athletics relates to the development and use of teaching tools that are utilized to increase an athlete""s skill level.
There are a variety of different tools available to train athletes. Some of these training tools are based on solid principles and facilitate improving an athlete""s performance while other theories may actually harm to an athlete (i.e., by causing injury or teaching improper technique). Dedicated athletes typically rely on numerous types of training activities including specialized coaching and/or equipment.
One major theory focuses on repeating a specified number of events (i.e., drilling) to teach a particular activity. A typical example is in sprinting where a sprinter will run a particular number of sprints at designated distances. Another such example would relate to baseball where a hitter will repeatedly take swings in a batting cage.
There are additional teaching theories which relate to body movement or mechanics. These theories focus on one or more aspects of the relative location between an athlete""s body parts at various points during the athletic activity. These types of theories are used with athletic activities such as baseball, tennis and high-jumping among others. The teaching tools that utilize theories based on body movement or mechanics typically relate to the mechanical aspects of the movement instead of on the tempo with which the athletic activity is performed.
There are also continuing attempts to improve athletic performance by improving the equipment associated with training for, or performing, an athletic activity. The emphasis on training equipment has resulted in technology playing a big part in the fitness equipment industry. One prominent example of improvements in equipment relates to advancements in the shoe industry. Other examples include improved tennis rackets, golf equipment and an assortment of weight training machines.
Coaches are typically able to provide general instruction to an athlete as to whether to xe2x80x9cslow downxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cspeed upxe2x80x9d their tempo as an athlete practices the athletic activity. One drawback associated with this type of instruction is that the instruction is limited to the time a coach can actually spend with an athlete. This type of instruction is also rather imprecise because the coach is not the individual actually performing the athletic activity. The coach does not know how the athletic activity xe2x80x9cfeelsxe2x80x9d to the athlete as the athlete practices the athletic activity. In addition, these in-person coaching lessons are often quickly forgotten during the heat of competition because athletes often times unconsciously alter their rhythm and tempo as they perform the athletic activity, especially during the pressure of competition.
There are some instructional tools that are directed toward teaching an athlete to develop a consistent tempo. These tempo-related tools typically supply either a repeating audio or visual signal to an athlete to provide a sensory input which the athlete tries to match as the athlete performs the athletic activity. The rate of the signals is typically adjustable so that athletes can adjust the tempo with which they perform the athletic activity.
One such device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,323 in the form of a biofeedback system which is used to train an exerciser. During operation of the biofeedback system an exerciser performs an exercise in which arms and/or feet members move rhythmically. The system translates the hand/foot movement into an audible musical rhythm.
Conventional instructional tools that attempt to teach an athlete how to develop a consistent tempo suffer from several drawbacks. One drawback is that such devices are typically not customized for a particular athlete because even though the signals emitted by the devices are adjustable, an athlete that is practicing with the aid of the device may be using a tempo that is inappropriate for that particular athlete. Another drawback associated with most of the existing devices is that the instruction they provide is limited for all practical purposes to designated practice facilities because it would be unacceptable to bring a signal-emitting instructional aid onto a field of athletic activity during completion. These limitations on existing devices are crucial because establishing tempo during practice is one thing but maintaining the appropriate tempo as the athlete feels the pressure during actual competition is quite a different situation.
The present invention solves the aforementioned problems by providing a method of producing an instructional tool for an athletic activity that teaches an athlete appropriate rhythm, timing and tempo by using the athlete""s own best performances as a template. In addition, the instructional tool produced by the method of the present invention supplies the athlete with a technique that is easily translated onto the field of athletic activity.
The present invention is directed to a method of producing an instructional tool for teaching an athlete how to develop a consistent (and appropriate) tempo for performing a particular athletic activity. The method includes a step of analyzing the tempo of an athlete as they perform an athletic activity and then composing a song that includes a tempo which matches the tempo of an outstanding performance of the athletic activity. The appropriate tempo of the athletic activity is established by determining the amount of time between certain events in the activity when the particular athletic activity is performed at an optimum level by an athlete. The song is composed such that it includes a beat pattern with a time difference between two of the beats in the beat pattern that matches the time difference between two events in the ideally performed athletic activity.
The song that is composed preferably includes a musical note on a beat within the beat pattern that corresponds to one event during the athletic activity and a musical note on a beat within the beat pattern in the song that corresponds to a second event during the athletic activity. It should be noted that musical notes within the beat pattern can be replaced with the sounds of impact when a particular athletic activity includes contacting a ball (e.g., a tennis ball) or some other device.
The current invention also relates to an instructional tool for teaching an athlete how to develop a consistent rhythm, timing and tempo as the athlete performs a particular athletic activity. The instructional tool includes a storage medium (e.g., a compact disc) and a song stored on the storage medium so that the song can be readily played back at any time and location. The song stored on the storage medium includes a beat pattern that has a time difference between two beats in the beat pattern which matches a time difference between two events during an athlete""s ideal performance of an athletic activity. In a preferred form, the song includes a first musical note on a beat within the beat pattern that corresponds to a first event in the athletic activity and a second musical note on a beat within the beat pattern that corresponds to a second event in the athletic activity.
Using a song to teach an appropriate rhythm, timing and tempo of a particular athletic activity is effective because most people are able to carry a song with them in their head even after the music has stopped playing. The teaching tool created by the method of the present invention allows an athlete to listen to their customized song anywhere at any time so that the athlete can embed the song within their head. Once the song is embedded in an athlete""s head, the athlete can carry the tune with them anywhere. As athlete""s attempt to maintain their timing during competition, especially at crucial junctures in a competition, the athlete simply needs to recall the customized swing song within their head.
The customized song could be used for any type of athletic activity where rhythm, timing and tempo are important. The timeframe for the value of such a customized song is indefinite because the athlete is continually able to refer back to the song. Athletes involved in all sports periodically suffer slumps, and listening to the song may promote shortening the lives of such slumps.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the following detailed description, claims and drawings.